Wednesday, October 23, 2013

About Pregnancy & Childbirth: Defining the End of Pregnancy

About Pregnancy & Childbirth
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Defining the End of Pregnancy
Oct 23rd 2013, 13:17

Newborn in Delivery Room

The debate has been raging for awhile as it became clear that women did not understand the terminology surrounding the end of pregnancy, but it is finally official that there are new definitions to help women and those who care for them to understand what to call the period of time surrounding the end of pregnancy from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM).

  • Early Term:  Between 37 weeks 0 days and 38 weeks 6 days
  • Full Term:    Between 39 weeks 0 days and 40 weeks 6 days
  • Late Term:   Between 41 weeks 0 days and 41 weeks 6 days
  • Postterm:     Between 42 weeks 0 days and beyond

The vast majority of reasoning for this change comes form the push to avoid elective births prior to 39 weeks.  As the data piles on showing this to be a risky practice, it is important that women, as well as the doctors and midwives who care for them, truly understand why this is a problematic issue. So, unless you have a really strong medical reason or you go into labor spontaneously, you will have to wait until you're full term to schedule an elective birth.

What's the conversation like with your practitioner?

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Photo © Karen Strauss/Getty Images

Defining the End of Pregnancy originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013 at 13:17:53.

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